"Is Montana Senate candidate Jon Tester the new face of the Democratic party?"

[jefferson_dem]

...asks right-wing neo-con rag, The Weekly Standard.



How the West Was Won
Is Montana Senate candidate Jon Tester the new face of the Democratic party?
by Matthew Continetti
10/30/2006, Volume 012, Issue 07

Billings, Montana

Last year, Jon Tester and his wife Sharla went to Washington. It was early May, around Mother's Day, and Tester was considering a run for the U.S. Senate. The third term of Montana's Republican junior senator, Conrad Burns, was drawing to a close, and Burns looked vulnerable. Tester went to the nation's capital to talk to some people about his potential candidacy, but also to see whether he could live there. Tester grew up, and still lives, in Big Sandy (pop. 710), a farming community in north-central Montana. Big Sandy could not be more different from the District of Columbia. Tester was struck by the size of Washington, the number of people on the streets, but he liked it well enough. He could see himself renting an apartment there--for a few days out of the week. He and Sharla returned home, and on May 24, 2005, Tester announced he would run for the Senate.

It may be time for Tester to start calling Washington area real estate brokers. If Conrad Burns seemed vulnerable in May 2005, there is no question that he is vulnerable today. Burns is one of the least popular U.S. senators. He is bedeviled by his association with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his support for the war in Iraq. He trails in every poll, and D.C. Republicans routinely say they expect him to lose. Try as he might, Burns has been unable to label Tester, a farmer, as an out-of-touch liberal. Instead Tester, like fellow Senate challengers Sherrod Brown in Ohio and Jim Webb in Virginia, is an antiwar populist who talks about economic inequality and the damage done to America by the president's foreign policy.

But Tester might also be something more. The strength of his candidacy is one more sign that the Democratic party is growing in the West. The Interior West--which includes Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming--is slowly embracing Democratic politicians and Democratic policies. And the roster of Western Democratic pols is impressive. In Arizona, there is Gov. Janet Napolitano, who is cruising to reelection. In Colorado, there is Democratic senator Ken Salazar and his brother John, who represents the state's Third Congressional District. In Montana, in addition to Tester, there is Gov. Brian Schweitzer. In New Mexico, there is Gov. Bill Richardson, a potential 2008 Democratic presidential candidate and the current chairman of the Democratic Governors Association. And in Wyoming, there is Gov. Dave Freudenthal, who is also likely to be reelected.

There are additional signs of Democratic growth in the West. Colorado, Montana, and New Mexico all have Democratic legislatures. Democrats command a majority in the Nevada house, though not in the state senate. In Colorado, Democrat Bill Ritter is leading Republican congressman Bob Beauprez in the race to succeed Republican governor Bill Owens. The Democratic leadership in Congress consists of a Mormon from the Interior West (Senate minority leader Harry Reid of Nevada) and a Catholic from the Pacific Coast (House minority leader Nancy Pelosi of California). On Election Day, Democrats are looking to gain U.S. House seats in Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona.

<SNIP>

http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/012/846btide.asp?pg=1

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

1. They do make one great point.

The future of our party is in the Interior West, not the South.

[rodeodance]

2. looks like they have Tester shoveling shit.

[CrispyQ]

3. He's gonna need that shovel if he makes it to DC!

I damn near cried when I read his comment, "I don't want to weaken the Patriot Act. I want to get rid of it!"

[Hav]

6. .

Yeah, first it was a jaw dropper, but then I had to smile about it.
Finally there are some who are courageous enough to talk like that.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

5. Yeah, well, they're assholes.

But even so, they stumbled upon an important point - we're gaining a lot of ground where we need to be gaining ground.

[MADem]

4. I'm STUNNED...that was the STANDARD?????????

It actually was written like a NEWSWEEK or TIME piece!!! No smarmy shit, no snide comments, none of that let's-not-bother-to-hide-our-shitsnarky-attitude prose!!!!!!!

That "associate editor" who wrote that thing won't last long...unless they're changing direction and deciding to play the game like ADULTS for a change!

[Hollow Shells]

7. I live in Montana

I almost feel sorry for Burns, he sucks so bad. His ads against Tester claim that Tester is pro-health care / pro-environment and that he raised business taxes.

Testers ads against Burns have an Abramoff quote saying that Burns did whatever Abramoff wanted and that he wants to start a State sales tax. Montanans Hate sales tax.

Tester will get my vote this Nov.